RMC: Royal Military Challenge
In tough times, the Paladins are staying positive
RAISE YOUR HAND if you can name the biggest upset in university sports this year.
What’s that you say? York University (6-16) besting Carleton University (20-2) in men’s basketball Feb. 5? Guess again.
How about the University of St. Francis Xavier (11-12-4) spoiling the University of New Brunswick’s (26-1) bid for a perfect season in men’s hockey Feb. 12? Not even close.
On Feb. 7 in Kingston, the Royal Military College (RMC) Paladins women’s volleyball team defeated the Windsor Lancers 3-2. It was the first win in the history of RMC’s women’s volleyball program. The victory ended RMC’s 110-game losing streak, and changed their all-time record to 1-113. It was the biggest upset in university athletics since Feb. 6, 2009, when the Paladins women’s basketball team defeated York 64-61. That win was also a first in the program’s history, ending a 128-game losing skid.
RMC’s other teams weren’t much more impressive this season: the men’s hockey team (5-18-4) fell six points shy of a playoff berth—and they have been one of the university’s better teams over the years. The men’s basketball team (0-22) has recorded one win in the regular season since 2005.
The reality is that the post-season is too unrealistic a goal for many of the Paladin teams. Winning a game, or perhaps a few, in the regular season is more tenable. This might surprise many; after all, RMC is a historic and prestigious institution in Canada. It recruits for the Canadian Forces on a national level and is well-regarded across the country. Every year, only individuals with skills that would seem transferable to athletics are accepted into the school. Young men and women with strong leadership skills, dedication, physical strength, and perseverance are the ones enrolling as Paladins. So why have their results been so poor?
Guy Dube, manager of varsity teams at RMC for over 10 years, explained the factors to the Fulcrum. He began by pointing out the tiny student population.
“We have about 1,000 students at our school, which is more akin to a small high school than a university. So our talent pool and athlete pool is smaller than other schools we’re competing with,” he said.
“Secondly, [there’s] the military aspect. The majority of our students are enrolled in the Canadian Forces. When you’re talking to a young high school athlete about coming to RMC and playing a sport, [joining the military] has to be part of the discussion. Clearly some people will not want anything to do with that and decide to go [to another school],” he continued.
Finally, the recruiting process itself also poses a challenge.
“Recruiting is not done internally. It’s done through a central agency with the Department of National Defence. So the process is done external to the college, which means [that] while we certainly have input, the final decision is theirs,” he said. “Fielding a competitive basketball team is far less important than finding the next best pilot, so it’s a question of priority and it poses a challenge for our coaches.”
With presumably no changes on the horizon, what alternatives does RMC have? One suggestion includes having the Paladins pull out of Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) and instead compete in the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA), where theoretically they could be more competitive.
Dube believes this would actually be counterproductive for the Paladins.
“There is an assumption that the college level is below the university level [athletically], but the danger is assuming that’s in fact correct,” he said. “At the lower level, some of the college teams may be more recreational with part-time coaches. But at the top level, college teams are as good as the top university teams, so simply dropping to a college division doesn’t address the competitiveness.”
Pulling out of the CIS would also have a negative impact on recruiting, Dube added.
“We would be hard-pressed to recruit potential university students to come and play at a college level. People view the CIS and OCAA as two different levels. We would lose out on some of the athletes we are bringing through, while still competing against highly skilled and deep teams. It would be a double-whammy.”
RMC will thus remain in the CIS, competing against schools with more depth and much wider talent pools.
“That’s the situation we’re in,” he said. “Short of being able to change any processes that are in place, we have to keep operating within what we know.”
But that doesn’t deter Dube. He knows that RMC coaches can’t promise potential recruits shots at a national championship, but they choose not to focus on the negatives.
“What you’re selling to a potential student athlete is playing time, since recruits going to other universities aren’t as likely to get a lot of playing time, especially in their first or second years. So that’s a plus from our perspective.”
An example of an RMC athlete who made the most of his playing time was former basketball star Kevin Dulude. Having played for the Paladins from 2000–05, he is now the all-time scoring leader in Ontario University Athletics history, with 2,092 career points—200 points more than the next athlete. He even led RMC to a 14-8 record in 2003–04.
“You can show people that it’s possible,” said Dube. “It’s just a question of everything falling into place at the right time.”
Another example of success was the Paladins women’s soccer team. In 2007, the squad earned the final playoff spot in the OUA East and promptly upset the rival Queen’s Gaels 2-0 in the first round. They were the only RMC team to win a playoff game in the previous decade.
“If a team breaks through at one point, [it] definitely helps in our effort,” said Dube. “It makes it easier for people to accept coming to a school that isn’t a national contender, but definitely on the rise.”
The ability to look at the positives is what characterizes a majority of the recruits who eventually choose to play for RMC, according to Dube.
“You’re telling kids that they can be part of the upswing,” he said. “Instead of focusing on the losses of the past, you focus on what they could bring to turn things around. To be honest, it definitely fits with the mentality of the people the military is trying to attract; you have people that want to come in and be part of the solution, not part of the problem.”
It’s that positive attitude that keeps coaches and players alike at RMC pressing on, even during tough times. The losses may mount, and the defeats may linger, but Dube said the Paladins will always be looking forward, waiting to eventually be part of something special.
“Hopefully, [at] some point soon, we’ll break through,” he said.
